Supreme Court Upholds NGT Ban on Riverbed Mining in Kashmir, Raps Jammu Kashmir Regulators

SRINAGAR: The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed appeals filed by NKC Projects Pvt Ltd, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), and the Jammu and Kashmir government, upholding a National Green Tribunal (NGT) order that had banned riverbed mining in the Shali Ganga stream in Budgam district.

A bench of Justice P S Narasimha and Justice Atul S Chandurkar delivered a scathing judgment against regulatory lapses in the Union Territory, holding that both the J&K Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) and the J&K State Environmental Impact Assessment Authority (JKEIAA) had acted illegally in granting environmental clearance to the mining company without a proper replenishment study.

The court underlined that a District Survey Report (DSR) is valid only when accompanied by replenishment data to assess whether a river can sustain further mining. Comparing the process to forest management, the judges wrote, “Just as felling of trees cannot exceed their growth rate, sand mining cannot be permitted without replenishment studies.”

The controversy dates back to 2022 when NKC Projects, contracted by NHAI for the construction of the Srinagar Ring Road, began extracting boulders and sand from Shali Ganga using heavy machinery. Environmental activist Dr Raja Muzaffar Bhat challenged the clearance before the NGT, which in September 2022 annulled the company’s permission. NKC, backed later by NHAI and the J&K government, moved the Supreme Court.

While the Jammu and Kashmir EAC had initially rejected the mining proposal citing depleted resources and lack of data, it reversed its decision within weeks, recommending clearance. The JKEIAA followed suit in April 2022, restricting mining depth to one metre “in view of non-availability of replenishment data.” The Supreme Court found this approach unacceptable, observing: “It is unfortunate that Jammu and Kashmir EIAA compromised with regulatory integrity… This is how regulatory failure occurs.”

The court also confirmed findings that NKC Projects had violated conditions by deploying heavy machinery such as JCBs and excavators, which were expressly barred. The Jammu and Kashmir Pollution Control Board has been directed to proceed against the company after hearing its defence.

Upholding the NGT’s decision in full, the bench said the appeals by NKC Projects, NHAI, and the Jammu and Kashmir government had “no merit.” It emphasised that environmental clearances for mining cannot be based on incomplete surveys and that the law, strengthened through successive notifications and guidelines since 2016, requires scientific replenishment studies as a precondition.

Welcoming the verdict, Dr Bhat said, “This judgment has made environmental bodies accountable. I will now file a separate case against JKEIAA and JKEAC for committing blunders while granting clearances to construction companies.”

Although the company’s road project is reportedly complete, the ruling carries wider implications for sand mining across India, reinforcing earlier Supreme Court positions that no mining activity, however small, can proceed without scientific scrutiny and sustainable safeguards.